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About James Conway

Gen. James T. Conway is a native of Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, graduated from Southeast Missouri University, and was commissioned in 1970 as an infantry officer in the Marine Corps. He held multiple platoon and company commander billets with both the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions and served as operations officer for the 31st Marine Amphibious Unit, to include contingency operations off Beirut, Lebanon, and as senior aide to the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Conway’s notable command billets include Battalion Landing Team 3/2 during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, The Basic School, the 1st Marine Division and I Marine Expeditionary Force, including two combat tours in Iraq. In a period of 33 days, he led the 90,000 British and American troops of I Marine Expeditionary Force (reinforced) nearly 500 miles from Kuwait to Baghdad, destroying nine Iraqi divisions in its path — the longest sequence of coordinated combined arms overland attacks in the history of the Marine Corps. He was then assigned as director of operations (J-3) for the Joint Staff in Washington, D.C., making him the senior operations officer for the U.S. military.

Conway served as the 34th Commandant of the Marine Corps from November 2006 to October 2010, during which time he was responsible for organizing, training and equipping over 250,000 active duty, reserve and civilian personnel; managing an annual budget of over $40 billion; overseeing the growth of the corps by 27,000; major military construction efforts at bases worldwide; and integrating multiple next-generation weapons systems into the Marine Corps inventory. He initiated new programs for the care of wounded warriors and updated Marine Corps family programs to put them on a wartime footing. Conway’s tenure as Commandant included the “Sunni Awakening” period in Iraq, the re-escalation of operations in Afghanistan, and a renewed focus on amphibious and expeditionary operations in training.

Since his retirement in 2010, Conway has joined and consulted for numerous corporate and non-profit boards, including Textron Inc., Colt Defense, General Dynamics, and the Marine Corps University Foundation. He also co-chairs the Energy Security Leadership Council (Securing America’s Future Energy), a non-partisan energy policy think tank. In the course of his career, Conway completed graduate seminars at both M.I.T. and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and is currently an adjunct faculty member at Georgetown University.

About Joe Barnes

Joe Barnes is the Bonner Means Baker Fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. Since coming to Rice in 1995, he has written extensively on international economics, with a focus on the geopolitics of energy. In addition to numerous institute studies, Barnes’ work has also appeared in The New York Times, the Houston Chronicle, Survival, Oil and Gas Journal, Energy Markets, the Newsletter of the Royal United Services Institute, the SAIS Policy Forum Series and the National Interest. From 1979 to 1993, he was a career diplomat with the U.S. State Department, serving in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. His last assignment in the State Department was with the Policy Planning Staff. Barnes is a graduate of Princeton University.

About Lance Fitzmorris

Lance Fitzmorris is currently director of global intelligence for Hess Corporation. Prior to Hess, he served with the CIA’s National Clandestine Service for 27 years, spending five years with the CIA’s Special Operations Group and Ground Branch, followed by five field tours as an operations officer on three continents, specializing in global political-military dynamics and regional stability and counter terrorism issues. Fitzmorris then took on a series of increasingly senior headquarters assignments, culminating as the chief author of NCS operational doctrine. At Hess, he is responsible for a global intelligence and security program, including assets in North Africa, Northern Europe, the Near and Middle East, the Far East and Latin America.

Venue

About the Jones SchoolThe Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University is one of the world’s leading business schools. Named in honor of the late Jesse Holman Jones, a prominent Houston business and civic leader, the Jones School is distinguished by its strong foundation in accounting, finance, marketing, and management with areas of excellence in energy, entrepreneurship, and health care. Degreed programs include the Rice MBA, MBA for Executives, and MBA for Professionals as well as joint MBA degrees in medicine, mechanical engineering and professional science. A PhD in Business attracts candidates aspiring to become faculty members at business schools in prestigious research universities internationally. The Jones School also provides an undergraduate business minor and full schedule of non-credit executive education open enrollment and customized courses for business and industry along with certificates in finance and accounting, health care and marketing. For more information visit business.rice.edu

About Rice UniversityRice's small size allows personal interaction between students and professors, while our eminent faculty foster the intellectual excitement of a major research university. At Rice, undergraduates at all levels participate in cutting-edge research with world-class faculty in the humanities, social sciences, engineering and natural sciences. Premier architecture and music professors enhance classroom experiences with their exceptional talent and artistry. A Rice education offers personal involvement and excellence in programs that prepare graduates for a changing world. For more information visit www.rice.edu

Directions to Rice University’s McNair Hall

From US 59:

If traveling North, take Kirby exit and continue on feeder to reach Greenbriar. (Shepherd/Greenbriar exit is closed coming from this direction).

If traveling South, take Shepherd/Greenbriar exit.

Turn onto Greenbriar traveling South (Greenbriar is a one-way street).

Turn left on Rice Boulevard.

Turn right onto campus at Entrance 20. The cross street is Kent.

At the second stop sign (which is Laboratory Road), turn right; the large building on the left is McNair Hall. The ramp down to the Central Campus Garage is on the left just after passing McNair Hall.

From Downtown Houston:

Take Main Street to Rice

Turn right onto Sunset Boulevard stay left as street turns into Rice Boulevard.

Look for campus Entrance 20; turn left into that entrance.

At the second stop sign (which is Laboratory Road), turn right.

The large building on the left is McNair Hall. The ramp down to the Central Campus Garage is on the left just after passing McNair Hall.

Parking in Central Campus Garage
Once you have entered the Central Campus Garage, take a ticket at the turret machine. We will give you a payment ticket that will allow you to park for free. Once you have parked, take one of the elevators or the stairs up to the school. Note: McNair Hall and the Central Campus Garage have different elevators and different stairs.